Aled Nurton, 38, is a Eurovision superfan and is excited for today’s Eurovision final held in Malmö, Sweden (Picture: Aled Nurton)
Eurovision is one of the year’s biggest parties – and one superfan goes all out.
Aled Nurton, 38, from Cardiff, Wales, who works in HR, has spent the last 10 years travelling around Europe for all things Eurovision.
He has no regrets over the £10,000 he’s spent on attending the spectacle since 2014.It’s all down to the incredible atmosphere and community that goes each year.
This year’s event takes place in Malmö, Sweden, and Aled and his friends have already been soaking up the sun and the good music on offer.
The final, which takes place tonight, will no doubt be an extravaganza of the brilliant, weird and wonderful, and, of course, Graham Norton at his very best on commentary duties.
Years & Years’ Olly Alexander is representing the UK with the song Dizzy, which is currently polling to finish in around 12th place.
Aled says when Eurovision comes around in May it is always his favourite time of year (Picture: Aled Nurton)
Join Metro’s Eurovision community on WhatsApp
Eurovision calling! To keep you up to date on everything going on in Malmö, we’re hosting a party for everybody (well, maybe just Eurovision fans) over on WhatsApp.
We’ll send you all the drama, memes and iconic moments from the live shows, plus behind the scenes gossip.
You can also get involved by sending your reactions to each of the acts and voting for your favourites in our polls, as we get closer to finding out who will be the winner of Eurovision 2024.
Just follow this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in!
Aled meets Eurovision’s Graham Norton (Picture: Aled Nurton)
Aled always goes with a big group of friends each year (Picture: Aled Nurton)
Aled told Metro.co.uk what first inspired him to get into Eurovision mania.
‘I remember it was the years 1996-97 and I just remember the spectacle of it all sat at home with family’, he said.
‘As soon as I saw it on the TV, I thought, “how do I get to this event?”‘
Aled would attend and host Eurovision parties before going to his first in Copenhagen – and he’s not looked back.
He added: ‘For me it is the best because you feel united with the LGBTQ+ community, there is the best energy, and it is just such a spectacular event.
‘A big group of us go each year and as we all get older this group continues to grow.’
He’s been to various different Eurovision events including the one held in Liverpool last year (Picture: Aled Nurton)
Aled always thinks up different creative outfits and doesn’t mind spending the money on travelling to different locations (Picture: Aled Nurton)
Aled spends around £500 on a fan club live or jury ballot ticket, but spent £900 in Tel Aviv in 2019.
A standout moment for him was Loreen’s performance for Sweden last year in Liverpool as Aled has a certain taste in music.
‘At Eurovision I love a power ballad. Anything with strong vocals is really great and has such an appeal at Eurovision,’ Aled said.
‘Other standout moments for me was Dami Im from Australia in 2016 who came second in Stockholm and even though I wasn’t there Zlata Ognevich from Ukraine in 2013 who came third in Malmö.
‘Last year when Liverpool celebrated Eurovision was so nice because everybody was celebrating on home turf.’
Politics is always at the heart of Eurovision and this year Israel’s contestant Eden Golan has proved to be a controversial inclusion due to the ongoing situation between Israel and Gaza.
Olly Alexander is the UK’s act for this year’s Eurovision (Picture: BBC One/Eurovision)
But she has said that ‘nothing will deter’ her after she was booed at the semi-finals on Wednesday when she performed her song Hurricane.
Aled said: ‘There’s always a political element to Eurovision particularly with the Eastern European countries, it is part and parcel really.
‘Azerbaijan and Belarus always usually scores highly for Russia when they are in the competition and Eden has proved to be a controversial contestant for this year.’
Being a Eurovision superfan means travelling around Europe is a massive highlight and Aled has been to some great places.
‘In 2017, we made a last-minute decision to go to Kyiv in Ukraine and it was 100% worth it’, he said.
‘Other highlights have included Turin in Italy, Vienna in Austria, and of course my favourite Tel Aviv which had such a fun party atmosphere.
‘Eurovision is great because I get to immerse myself in all the fun each year.
‘What is also appealing is the fact you never know where you are going to end up visiting the following year.’
Aled promises to keep going as long as Eurovision continues and shared his thoughts about the UK’s contestant Olly Alexander and his song Dizzy.
More Trending
‘I’m super excited to see Olly in the final,’ Aled revealed.
‘He is such a great performer but I feel like there are so many other great performances that his might get a bit overshadowed
‘I’m hoping for a top ten slot though. Fingers crossed he is on the right side of the board.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.